Emergency ambulance services under strain as nearly half of vehicles non-functional

Ranchi: Jharkhand’s emergency health services are under severe pressure as nearly half of the state’s ambulances are currently non-functional. Out of approximately 1,065 ambulances, 465 are not in working condition.

Even among the operational ones, many are in poor shape — several districts report vehicles with weak engines, damaged stretchers, and missing oxygen cylinders. In rural regions, these issues have led to long delays in transporting patients to hospitals, sometimes resulting in the deaths of pregnant women and critically ill patients.

According to the National Health Mission (NHM) guidelines, there should be at least one Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance per one lakh population, and one Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance per ten lakh population. Currently, only around 600 ambulances are operational, with many forced to serve multiple villages — sometimes up to ten each.

Health Department officials claim that repair and maintenance work is underway and that all vehicles are expected to be back in service soon. However, in several districts, ambulances have been lying unused for months, and calls to helplines often go unanswered — leaving people without vital emergency assistance.